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So, I wanted to tell you guys about this amazing collection that I’m lucky enough to be a part of, but one of the other authors in the boxed set wrote such a meaniful post about it, I asked her if I could share her words instead. So, here goes:

Have you read, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou? Therein is a little black girl that believes if she had blonde hair and blue eyes, everything would be different and okay.

I didn’t understand race for a long time – I grew up with friends of all colors and nationalities, but it wasn’t until my family relocated to the deep south that I came to understand that being black came with its own stigma.

I’ll never forget the day – I was riding with my grandmother as we headed to Pulaski, Tennessee, and as we rounded the courthouse, I watched men in sheets chant epithets and spew hate. I asked my grandmother about it, and she told me to ignore those fools. But what is known cannot be unknown or forgotten.

Only after this fierce and blatant experience was I forced to face that European beauty standards would dictate my own beauty. My lips and nose were considered too wide; my derriere to round; my laughter too robust; my hair too curly and kinky. I was supposed to cower in the background, and be okay with it, but I wasn’t. Instead, I sought to create my own path, and strengthened by the tenets of my faith, and family, and embraced by a high school where we were all eclectic, different and thriving on this difference, I pursued excellence. I tried out for plays; studied hard, acted, travelled, and never let anyone put me in a corner because of what they expected me to be like.

Luckily in the 80s, I grew up with television characters that reflected my world, such as The Cosby Show and A Different World, followed in the 90s by Family Matters. I saw families that reflected my own – these stories didn’t revolve around drugs, prostitution or any negative stereotype, but about families and the problems that they had to overcome.

Every kid is teased. Every kid has to make their way into adulthood, and having representation that goes beyond that of horrible tropes, as depicted in movies and by the media, the social prejudices can then be eradicated. If books and media didn’t provide a different take, I could have grown up thinking that the best I could become would have been a maid, a hooker, a strung out side chick, or even a drug dealer. The positive role models made it possible for me to reach higher, and to strive to become more. That’s why representation is important.

Diversity in pop culture and media are important. The media and entertainment industry play an important role in race relations, as many people only know of certain ethnicities based on the image as produced through Hollywood’s lenses. Stereotypes that are visually reinforced, and without basis. We’ve not yet moved to a society where all are embraced, but maybe this can be the beginning of it. Maybe through diverse fiction, and the telling of tales that move the masses, others can embrace stories that star cast members of differing ethnicities, genders and sexual orientations.

Just as a FYI, diverse fiction doesn’t mean that everything is about race relations or some huge historical struggle. A romance doesn’t have to be about race any more than a children’s cartoon. Were the Huxtables any less relatable because they were a black family?
Instead, this and representations of diverse mediums reflect the diverse community we are, as well as helps to build bridges – removing the sense of otherness, and instead recognizing that the stories we tell are those of the heart – the same boy meets girl love stories, travel adventures, war stories, heck, even horror. By building those bridges we help to eradicate the growing chasm of hate which we find ourselves wallowing in. So, instead of just deferring to a homogeneous or default representation in fiction, I’m happy to be part of a forthcoming boxed set that reflects the world in which I live.

My America is composed of several races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and genders. And there is room in fiction for all of us.

Let’s embrace diverse fiction because we are living in a grand diverse world!

#diversitymatters #representationmatters

Today, help support diversity and representation, and grab your copy of this great set of full length stories!

A dangerously beautiful vision of unique worlds that’s sure to leave its mark.

Cross through the looking glass into Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, and Dystopian realms where you’ll meet valiant heroes, kick-ass heroines, and dangerous creatures waiting to unveil the hidden corners of the universe.

SIGILS & SPELLS includes more than twenty exclusive novels that roam the sands of Egypt, slip into the shadows of 1940s Los Angeles, voyage to the mystical land of Mabi, and dare to traverse the stars.

From the deserts of Africa to the streets of San Antonio, mythological adventurers strike out to discover brand new worlds and unravel the mysteries of Earth in a limited edition boxed set offering the diversity and originality you haven’t been able to find before now.

Hey guys 😀

The Colorless Release Day is just around the corner, and I wanted to tell you guys about the book-birthday party I’m throwing on Facebook. There’s going to be games, prizes, amazing author drop ins, and a kindle fire giveaway. Also, I’m going to go live (for the first time EVER) at the beginning of the giveaway.

Have any questions you want me to answer while I’m live? Write them in the comments!

The party starts at 10 am EDT and goes all day until 11pm EDT. It’s all online and you can drop in whenever you want!! I’ll be featuring Colorless from noon to 2 pm, EDT.

You can join the party by clicking here:

Have you preordered your copy of Colorless yet 😉 😉 ? You can grab one by clicking here:

11-12 pm (EDT) Sheri-Lynn Marean

I never thought I’d be an author…
I’m also a professional animal artist who spent most of my life riding/working with horses. Now I’m married with kids. And pets–a golden retriever who steals socks, a cat who brings live mice inside & two kittens who believe our house their jungle gym…
I’ve always been an avid reader and released my first book in March of 2016

Grab her book for FREE!!

2-3 pm (EDT) Sarah K.L Wilson

3-4 pm (EDT) K.M. Robinson

K.M. Robinson is a storyteller who creates new worlds both in her writing and in her fine arts conceptual photography. She is a marketing, branding and social media strategy educator who is recognized at first sight by her very long hair. She is a creative who focuses on photography, videography, couture dress making, and writing to express the stories she needs to tell. She almost always has a camera within reach.

6 – 7 pm (EDT) Catherine Banks

Catherine Banks is the author of the Artemis Lupine Series, Pirate Princess, Daughter of Lions, and many more. She began writing fiction stories when she was only four years old and finished her first full length novel at the age of fifteen. She is married to her soulmate and best friend, Avery, who she has two amazing children with. After her full time job she reads books, plays video games, and watches a lot of anime shows and movies with her family to relax.

8–9 pm (EDT) Lichelle Slater

Lichelle lives in the beautiful Salt Lake Valley, Utah and has loved books since she was born. Her mom read to her until she could read, always took her to the library to get more books, and she often got in trouble for staying up all night reading. Her dad read The Hobbit to her and her siblings, giving a different voice for each character.

Lichelle fell in love with the magic of words and has always wanted to share that magic with others. This past year she finally decided to make her dreams come true and has books now available in all sorts of genres. One thing is for certain: she leaves you feeling a touch of magic, and there’s always a dragon.

9–10 pm (EDT) LM Preston

L.M. Preston was born and raised in Washington, DC. An avid reader, she loved to create poetry and short-stories as a young girl. She started writing science fiction under the encouragement of her husband who was a Sci-Fi buff and her four kids. Her obsessive desire to write and create stories of young people who overcome unbelievable odds introduced series such as The Pack, Bandits, Purgatory Reign and her LUV novellas. She loves to write while on the porch watching her kids play or when she is traveling, which is another passion that encouraged her writing.

So, it’s been a while since I posted to my blog–sorry, guys. Honestly, I’ve been focusing a lot more on my weekly newsletter lately. But, I’m here now 🙂 and I wanted to tell you guys about Hazel! Hazel is a FREE prequel to Colorless (coming 8/82017), that I’m giving away now EXCLUSIVELY to my newsletter subscribers (as in, there’s no other place to get it–it’s not for sale anywhere). If you’re interested, here’s a little more about it:

Fifteen-year-old Hazel Hampton expects many things from her coming out ball. Laughter. Joy. A full ballroom. An overflowing dance card. And most precious of all, the chance to steal a dance with the forbidden boy whom she loves. What she doesn’t expect is to be arrested on the charges of sorcery and murder.

And, just in case you missed it, here’s a little something about Colorless, which is on sale now for $0.99 and releases on August 8th.

In Domengrad, there are rules all must live by: Fear the Gods. Worship the Magicians. Forsake the Iconoclasts.

To Annabelle Klein, the rules laid down by the Magicians are the mere ramblings of stuffy old men. As far as she’s concerned, the historic Iconoclasts, heretics who nearly destroyed the Magicians so long ago, are nothing but myth. She has much more important matters to worry about.

Heiress to a manor mortgaged down to its candlesticks and betrothed to her loathsome cousin, sixteen-year-old Annabelle doubts the gods could forsake her more.

Then Annabelle is informed of her parents’ sudden and simultaneous deaths, and all of the pigment drips out of her skin and hair, leaving her colorless. Within moments, Annabelle is invisible and forgotten by all who know her.

Living like a wraith in her own home, Annabelle discovers that to regain her color she must solve the mystery behind her parents’ murders and her strange transformation.

Meanwhile, hundreds of the Magicians’ monks, with their all-black eyes and conjoined minds, have usurped control of Annabelle’s family manor. An Iconoclast is rumored to be about—a person who they claim goes unseen, unheard, and lost to memory, yet is the greatest threat to all of Domengrad. For the first time in a hundred years, the monks plan to unleash the dire wolves of old.

The existence of genies may be the best-kept secret in the history of the world.

After being trapped in the Sahara Desert for her whole life, sixteen-year-old genie Brielle finally gets her first assignment in Tri-Cities, Washington. She eagerly heads out into the human world to grant her first wish so that she can gain her magic. Unfortunately, her assigned human, Addie, stopped believing in wishes years ago and would much rather that everyone just leave her alone.

Complicating everything is Rock, Brielle’s childhood friend turned enemy. Brielle doesn’t need him ruining her first trip out into the human world. Too bad she can’t keep her mind—or her eyes—off him and his annoyingly cute dimples.

To make matters worse, genies in the Tri-Cities area are suspiciously dying. One broken lamp could be an accident, but after three deaths occur, Brielle suspects someone has uncovered the genies’ secret and is slowly killing them off one by one.

With the Genie Council ignoring the threat, Brielle desperately needs to gain her magic so she can stop the murderer before she—or Rock—is the next genie to die.

NOTE: Granted is an urban fantasy adventure & romance for young adults with genies, murder and mystery! It deals with teenage rites of passage and being a teen.

They say if you tell a lie long enough, you’ll eventually believe it, but Akiko will never forget who she really is.

Akiko Susumu is not what she seems. Her life as a normal teen living in a coastal Canadian town is a complete sham. The old man she lives with is not her grandfather, he’s her captor. And Akiko isn’t a teen. In fact, she isn’t even human.

But Akiko isn’t allowed to share the reality of her true nature with a single soul. Not even her three best friends know of the power she could wield, given the chance.

So, when she’s sent back to her homeland to steal an ancient samurai sword, she jumps at the chance to secure her freedom. Only to get caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse with the most dangerous crime syndicate in Japan.

Can Akiko escape with her life and her soul, or is true freedom as elusive as the Aether she was born from?

Innocent Aria never imagined that her dream trip to Paris would change her life forever. She is soon thrown into a world where vampires, angels, gargoyles and werewolves exist.

After being rejected and almost dying, Aria finds herself stuck in a dangerous love triangle where her freedom and happiness are at stake.

Who will Aria choose to love forever? The gorgeous but ruthless vampire who sentenced her to Hell or the breathtaking and possessive angel Prince who offers her redemption and a brand new pair of wings.

The Soul Guide is a riveting Urban / Paranormal Fantasy that will keep you turning pages until its very end.

Sybil has been chosen as the next Soul Guide. Her job is to ensure light and life remain on Earth. But with such responsibility comes much danger and she is being hunted. With the help of Bertram, the old Caretaker, and Alec, her Guardian she must reach the Veil to complete the passing over ceremony before the Master and the Mephisto get to her first.

On her journey from the streets of London, to the gothic Clayhill Manor and beyond through doors only the Caretaker can see, Sybil will find herself embroiled in a hidden world where the fate of the human race is quite literally in her hands. Will she be able to fulfil her destiny? Can she trust the young man whose been sent to protect her or the Caretaker who seems lost to his own grief? Read book one of the Soul Guide series to find out.

In a world ruled by lethal Slavic immortals, Rose and her pack of Black werewolves are drawn into the beginning of a war as they try to uncover the being behind the mass murder of White werewolves.

Because the nature of the killings obstructs the normal passage of souls, Veles, the sultry lord of the underworld, offers Rose his assistance; the were is left facing not only the new knowledge of the pack’s hidden lineage but also her growing fondness for the arrogant god…

To win the war, the pack must ascend to The Dark Ones. But to do so, they must be willing to risk being on the receiving end of the immortal community’s wrath.

I thought this giveaway looked pretty neat, click on the image to enter!

Just a quick note. So, for those of you who love free books (like me!), I want to tell you about an awesome discovery and a really cool giveaway. There’s a new free and bargain book site that’s launching on June 5th, that’s comparable to Bookbub on how amazing their deals are (and they’re VERY selective, too!). AND… if you sign up before the launch date, you’re entered into this amazing giveaway (click on the image to learn more):

Are you a NetGalley reviewer? The finished copy of Ensnared is on NetGalley for professional reviewers for one month only. Unfortunately, if you’ve already picked it up, I’m pretty sure you’re stuck with the ARC. But, if you haven’t grabbed it yet, you can request it here: LINK

Alainn’s father is not a bad man. He’s a genius and an inventor. When he’s hired to create the robot Rose, Alainn knows taking the money is a mistake.

Rose acts like a human. She looks exactly like Alainn. But, something in her comes out wrong.

To save her father from a five year prison sentence, Alainn takes Rose’s place. She says goodbye to the sun and goes to live in a tower no human is allowed to enter. She becomes the prisoner of a man no human is allowed to see.

Believing that a life of servitude lies ahead, Alainn finds a very different fate awaits her in the company of the strange, scarred recluse.

Free on Kindle Unlimited

[You might be like, “Wait , what?! That’s not the Ensnared cover!”
I know, I’m sorry for the confusion. Last minute, the publisher, Kindle Press, and I decided to switch the cover. If you want to talk about it, feel free to email or msg me. But, yay, Ensnared is up and running! ]

Also, wanted to share: here’s some paranormal and dystopian books all for $0.99 (psst… one of my books might be in there 😉 )

Hi there! I just created a facebook groups street team. A street team is a place where I’ll give out ARC copies, post for beta readers and give out book swag. It’s also a place where I’ll tell secrets that I’m not making public yet .

I’m also inviting other author friends to give out their ARCs or post for beta readers here.

If you’re a fan of my books (or are interested in grabbing some free copies) and would like to get involved, I’d be so honored if you joined! Everything is given out for free, and you’ll be the first to receive books, updates, etc. I’m going to keep it pretty small, no spammy posts, more like a community.

So, this week I’m giving out two of these Making Bad Choices custom mugs randomly to people who are part of the club.

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About me

Rita Stradling is the author of Making Bad Choices, The Deception Dance series, the Dakota Kekoa series and The Fourteen Day Soul Detox Novella Serial. She has a BA in Art History and a particular love for modern and medieval art.
Rita lives with her husband and son in Northern California.
She has an insatiable novel addiction and mostly reads young adult and adult: romance, paranormal, urban fantasy and high fantasy.